Live Updates from the Relief Mission

Please find the latest information about the work Sankalp is doing in the disaster affected area here.

The final distribution is done

The final round of distribution of utensils was carried out on 15th Novemeber 2009 at Ashraya Colony on the outskirts of Raichur. With this all work on filed in project Sparsh draws to a close

Till date...

On sunday, the volunteers visited Katarki village in Manvi Taluk of Raichur district. TungaBhadra river is just 2-3 kms away from the village. The extent of damage was pretty bad. Following the previous method of going from one home to the other and see the extent of damage, the volunteers were doing their assessment when one person started shouting and demanded more material. This eventually led to a chaos which made the volunteers to leave the village immediately. In total 59 sets of utensils, 50 blankets, 6 shawls and 5 sarees were given out in this village after visiting more than 100 homes here.

Next the volunteers went to Daddala village. This looked even closer to the river. Almost the entire village had been destroyed. When they visited the homes, and in most cases there were no homes. After visiting more than 120 homes, coupons were given to 91 people and materials were distributed to them. One of the volunteer claimed this was the worst affected village he had seen.

On the way back, another few sets were given out to some people. In total 157 sets were distributed on Sunday. On both days put together, 184 sets were distributed with at least 90% going to genuinely needy people.

There is still materials left which is for close enough to be given to 90 families. They have been stored in Raichur. They will be distributed by next weekend.

As on today (saturday,31/10)

Today 27 sets of utensils ahve been distributed in Akshala village. The remaining utensils will be distributed tomorrow.

Final phase

73 sarees have been transported today. About 4 Volunteers from our organization will be involved in the final phase of the distribution of the relief material spread over the weekend.

250 sets distributed

Over 2 days, our volunteer teams have been working to find the most needy families and have distributed 250 sets of utensils in villages in Raichur district and also in one village in Andhra Pradesh

150 more sets on Saturday

Another set of 150 utensils have been dispatched on Saturday night with 2 volunteers. Again KSRTC has been our mode of transport

More relief material dispatched

Around 353 sets of utensils have been dispatched by KSRTC bus today. Along with the utensils, 60 shawls and 50 blankets have been dispatched. They are expected to reach Raichur tomorrow.

500 more sets of utensils

500 more sets of utensils will be dispatched to Raichur in batches of two, one tomorrow and the other on day after tomorrow along with 2 groups of volunteers.

More utensils

We will be sending more utensils to the flood affected areas near Raichur the coming weekend, as there are reports of food and clothing have reached in sufficient quantities.

Flood Relief Update: 13th October

Utter suffering

Where are the houses? Visiting the village of Pannur more than 60 kms away from Raichur the volunteer from our side after walking through a huge pile of rubble announced, we will go to each house and give tokens. The relief worker from local area gently spoke - "Sir there are no houses here anymore". The realization struck then. The volunteer climbed a broken wall to see hundreds of shattered homes all around. The destruction was complete and the area nothing but a pile of rubble. 3 houses of a total of 300+ were still standing! The Irony When we visited the village of Ragunathanahalli we had to drive through 2 badly damaged bridges. Fortunately we were on bikes or else reaching there was impossible. We went to look at the damage on one side of the village. House after house we saw how walls had come down. We came face to face with people who had lost all their belongings under the rubble. Families keenly showed us the damage hoping to receive some help. By the time we came back to the road, our companions (local volunteers) requested us not to give any material to these houses. They told us that damage was far greater on the other side that they had visited. It did not make sense to us. We had seen such gruesome destruction and we were told that these people did not need help? Somehow we decided to accept the idea of starting to distribute the relief from the other side. Soon the thinking changed! We were dumbstruck to see what we saw on the other side. The people on the side that we had visited had some jewelry on them. They had a few wall collapses but they had shelter. On the other side nothing remained. Water had carried with itself all the belongings. We left after having distributed 75 sets. Now we knew the difference between the needy and the most needy!

Stories from the field

The following are few of the experiences our Volunteers has to share. Improper Distribution One thing we realized in the first day of the survey of the area was the gross inappropriateness of the distribution strategy that many people were adoption. We saw vehicles coming from Bangalore who used to park anywhere and start providing the relief material to the people who were crowding outside the door. Clearly the stringer and the more influential in the lot were always the beneficiaries. Some families were relatively nearer to the distribution point. they collected multiple sets of goods. Others which were further off received less aid. Influence of Village Netas In many villages the people were making use of the lists that the Gram Pradhan had prepared. These lists were doing little good. They were heavily biased on the basis of caste and sect. Some families got helped more and more while the others continued to suffer. Having seen this we adopted a method suggested by the locals who were helping the victims since day 1. We went on a survey across the village visiting each house. Wherever we say the need we gave the family plastic tokens. Eventually who all had the tokens came to a single common place to collect goods. This was by and large the best way we could figure out to ensure smooth and need based distribution without bias. Village Accountant: The heard of but rarely seen species We were told that the village accountant was the govt officer supposed to co-ordinate relief. We just heard of these people but never saw them in the villages. We were told that they were negotiating things in the DHQ while the relief agencies struggled. Lack of Relief Planning No one knew who is going where and how much need is there. We had to struggle for 2 days to identify the most needy villages because there was no official process to channelize inbound relief agencies. Food was supplied The Govt had taken adequate care to ensure supply of food grains.

Villages where help was provided.


View Disaster Relief in a larger map
VillageTotal Families Helped
Raghunathanahalli75
Chicksugur75
Pannur100
Kataknur100
Bichalli140
Notes
  1. Carefully note the location of the chosen villages. They were worst affected because of the rush of water towards the rivers.
  2. Some more affected villages which had received media attention and hype including Chickmanchali, Talmari etc because many people had rushed that way.
  3. You may note that we have distributed the aid across villages. This is because in each village we have hunted for the most affected families.

Distribution of utensil sets complete

  • Today, 75 utensil sets have been distributed to the most needy families of Chicksugur.

  • Further details are awaited to decide the future plans.

Distribution of utensil sets

Even though 500 utensil sets that were shipped from Bangalore reached Raichur, our volunteers were not successful in distributing the items today. The reasons responsible for the delay were:

  • Delays from KSRTC
  • Lack of availability of vehicles due to VIP visits
  • the knowledge that some utensils may have been distributed in ChickManchur

In line with the philosophy to ensure material reaches most needy, we have re-assessed the requirement across the villages we were planning to support. The updated plan is as follows:

  • On the banks of Krishna river, Chicksugur will be receiving the utensils tomorrow.

  • On the banks of river Tungabhadra, there are villages where it is still impossible to go. People from these villages are living in a number of surrounding villages including Tungabhadra village and ChickManchur. Tomorrow morning, a second batch of volunteers will be visiting these villages to distribute the relief.

After these visits, assessment of the future needs can be given back to the other interested organizations/ individuals.

No rains since last 4 days

Raichur has not received rains since last four days. This ensures that the stagnant waters will soon dry off. According to the reports from the local sources the chances of an epidemic breakout is quite low.

Sending Goods on Thursday

The first relief supply is set to leave Bangalore by 8:00 PM on Thursday. We are looking at the option of adding towels and more utensils if we get some extra money and saris and dhotis if the contribution is greater.

Contributions by Wednesday

By the end of the day on Wednesday we had a total of approximately Rs 50,000/- was contributed. We went ahead and made use of these funds to get 500 sets of utensils for the affected families. each utensil set has
  • 1 Rice Cooking Utensil
  • 1 Dal cooking Utensil
  • 1 rice spoon
  • 1 dal spoon
  • 2 glasses
  • 2 plates
These items were purchased after very strong market research. Eventually we got these items at a phenomenally low price of ~ Rs 220/- per set. Many whole sellers are providing the utensils at par with the costs and thus we are getting them at roughly 40-50% below retail price. The items are all made of Stainless Steel. Quality is reasonable and durability a consideration for purchases.

Chickmanchal is next selected village

While the Bangalore volunteers were busy rigging up the funds for the relief materials, the field volunteer was exploring other affected areas. On advise of the DC he proceeded to Chickmanchal. This village has a population of 2000+ individuals (350 families). 80-90% houses are destroyed here. The following requirements were identified there: Shirt and dhoti: 700 each Sari and Blouse: 700 each Towel: 500 Mats: 500 Utesnsil: 500 set Bedsheet: 500 Shawl: 500 Images will be uploaded shortly.

Fund Collecetion is Proceeding in Full Speed

Entire Wednesday was spent in getting more funds for the relief mission. We have the support of Dhariwal & Sreenivas Chartered Accountants along with MSRIT along with many individual contributors.

Requirements Updated

The requirement of Dhotis and of Saris has been updated to 1000 and 800 respectively. More villages are being surveyed even as we prepare to satisfy the need that has already been assessed.

Requirement Set 1 finalised

- 450-500 Dhotis - 450-500 Saris - 1000 Towels - 250 sets Utensils 2 Plates, 2 Glasses, 2 utensils to cook dal/sambhar and rice, 1 dal spoon and 1 rice spoon per family.

MSRIT Joins In

As always, MSRIT has extended full support. Tomorrow the college will be contributing towards the relief. Thank you MSRIT.

Sparsh Operationalised

Having confirmed the need and the damage, Sankalp has fully operationalised the relief efforts. We are in talks with several oragnisations to participate in the relief work. Individual contributions have also been invited.

People homeless

In Chiksugur more than 50% houses have suffered damage due to the floods. The water rose to as high as 6 feet in some areas. Many houses are so badly destroyed that the occupants have to be housed in a temporary shelter. Food and water has been arranged locally. Reports indicate the supply of blankets in near future by political parties. The need of the hour as indicated by the Gram Pradhan and other locals is Dhotis, Saris, Utensils and Basic Kitchen Supply.

Affected Area Identified

An elaborate discussion with the district administration in order to understand the affected regions has taken place. The outcome is that the district administration has requested us to look after the needs of Chiksugur, a village with 2000 families which is one of the worst affected region of Raichur. The initial investigation of the needs and the damage has been done.

Our Volunteer In Affected Area

In order to ensure that we have correct information and right direction, one of the Volunteers has already reached the affected area. He has 3 goals: - Identify the affected areas and the need of the hour. - Understand the availability of materials from local market to save the transportation overheads. - Co-ordinate with the District Collector and the Relief Commissioner.

Plan to use the existing network

The StateWide Helpline for blood has ensured that we are well connected with various interior districts of the state. We have small teams of people who have been helping people with blood locally. The same teams are being coordinated with in order to maximise the understanding of the disaster hit area.

Sankalp @ World 10k Run

Join hands with us and support our cause to help support the running of the blood helpline, give better facilities to the children at Thalassemia Day Care Centre and give life a better chance.

Here is what you can do :

1. Log on to http://bangalorecares.in/index.php Select Sankalp at the NGO find tab and donate for the cause and help us in the fund raising initiative.

2. Call up +919880132850 or mail us at sankalp.admin@gmail.com and find out more ways o help out.

 

 

Sankalp 9th Anniversary - 2012



Sankalp News

Work @ Sankalp April 2012

This summer month of April was one that had plenty of Sankalp events and kept volunteers on their toes through out. Here is a snapshot of what happened.

5 more blood banks joined Disha:  The blood helpline of Karnataka has been making a difference in the lives of many patients. A good 40 to 50 blood equests pouring in every day. In an attempt to find the safest unit of blood at the nearest geographical location a bigger and better blood bank network is required. Disha provides that platform. 

Disha Goes Online

Disha means direction. Disha was started with the intention to direct patients to the nearest source of safe blood. In doing so, Disha has finally started directing other teams of Sankalp as well.

5 new blood banks joined Disha

3 of the best Blood Banks from Uttara Kannada are now networked to the centralized blood helpline. Pandit Govt Hospital IMA Blood Bank (Sirsi), Shripad Hagde Kadave Blood Bank (Sirsi) and Uttara Kannada Rotary Blood Bank (Kumta) are now a part of Disha. Helpline stickers and posters have also been given to other blood banks of the area.

Shaheed Diwas Long Live Revolution


23rd March 1931, Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were hanged at Lahore Jail, they gave their lives for country’s freedom which they had dreamt off. Since then, to salute their supreme sacrifice, this day is remembered as Shaheed Diwas.

 

 

 

News Updates for March 2012

Rakta Kranti Bangalore

Owing to the generally good stocks of blood in the blood banks RKB had a moderate month in terms of number of blood donation drives. However, as and when the blood banks called in for a camp, we were able to cater to the need.

A total of 204 units were collected in 6 camps making the total for the year 7300 units.

 

Work @ Sankalp Feb 2012

Rakta Kranti Bangalore

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blood Donation Camp @ Hop On Girls

Hop On Gurls is a group of girls who think out of the box. They are a group of girls who have a passion for riding Royal Enfield bullet. They wanted to organise a drive in one of their volunteer's place, in a residential area. Being aware of the possibility of low donor turnout in such outdoor camps, Sankalp, agreed for the drive, considering it a motivational drive for the people of the area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Technology Revolutions To Give Life A Better Chance!

TechnologyTechnology has become an integral part of life in today’s world. Organisations world over use technology to aid their processes and hence become more effective and sustainable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Training For Blood Bank Technicians

Sankalp India Foundation started the New Year of the Initiative for Better Blood Banking by organising a training session and meeting for the various blood bank officers, technicians and staff nurses at NIMHANS.

A Special Republic Day @ Sankalp

Library @ the Day CareIn India, Republic Day commemorates the date on which the Constitution of India came into force replacing the Government of India Act 1935 as the governing document of India on 26 January 1950. The 26th of January was chosen to honour the declaration of independence of 1930.

 

 

 

Thal Day Care is Up and Running

With 111 patients on roll as on 1st January 2012 the dreams that the inauguration of the Day Care Center at IGICH on 14th November 2011 took off have already stared finding the sweet taste of realization - never mind if the journey has just begun. Last 45 days have been extremely challenging and yet exciting at the Thal Day Care Centre. With the magnanimous support from the Director and staff at IGICH the facilities being offered to the patients are taking great shape:

 

The Technological Heaven With a Heart - IISc

In Bangalore city there is a technological heaven. However, this place, The Indian Institute Of Science is also a place where Sankalp can turn to for emergency blood donors. Thank you one and all @ IISC, Bangalore is proud of you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

6 camps held in November

Six blood donation drives were held in the month of November with 412 units of blood collected. We would like to thank and congratulate Airtel, Deutsche Bank, Hypercity, KPIT and AMD for their continued support to the cause of voluntary blood donation. The volunteer teams at KPIT and AMD did an amazing work with publicity leading to more than 25% of the associates coming forward to donate blood.

Disha Publicity diversified

One daunting question for the Disha team has been - ”Where should one try to publicize the blood help line?” People generally are not sensitive to such information unless they themselves need blood. With limited means, we decided to put up the stickers where we felt patients will look for help the most - in the hospitals.

 

 

 

Shortage of Rare Blood Groups

"A whooping 91 blood requests came to the emergency wing of Sankalp in the month of November. We would have taken this as a bad mark on the availability of blood and voluntary blood donation normally; however, closer look at requests portrayed a different picture.

 

India After Independence

Chipko: A People's Movement

The Ancient Legend In India there is an ancient legend about a girl, Amrita Devi, who died trying to protect the trees that surrounded her village. The story recounts a time when the local Maharajah's tree cutters arrived to cut the villager's trees for wood for his new fortress. Amrita, with others, jumped in front of the trees and hugged them. In some versions of the tale their dramatic efforts prevented the forest's destruction; in others Amrita dies in her valiant attempt.

The General Emergency 1975-77

http://venus.unive.it/asiamed/eventi/schede/ev_emerg1.jpgThe Emergency in India denotes the 21-month period between June 25, 1975 and March 21, 1977 when President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, upon advice by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, declared a State of Emergency in India under Article 352 of the Constitution of India, effectively bestowing on her the power to rule by decree, suspending elections and civil liberties. It is one of the most controversial periods in the history of independent India. During the Emergency, many opposition leaders were jailed, freedom of press was suspended and powers of the judiciary were curtailed

Food shorages on 60s and Green Revolution

It is hard to imagine today that there existed a time in independent India when the then Prime Minister of the country, Sw. Lal Bahadur Shastriji had to appeal to the nation to skip one meal a day. Our nation saw one of the darkest era when we faced acute shortage of food in the 60s. Ships from America brought in bad quality grain as charity to feel us and the Nation battled with the problems of rising prices and hunger.

Bhopal Gas Tragedy

3rd December 1984 Shortly after midnight poison gas leaked from a factory in Bhopal, India, owned by the Union Carbide Corporation. There was no warning, none of the plant's safety systems were working. In the city people were sleeping. They woke in darkness to the sound of screams with the gases burning their eyes, noses and mouths. They began retching and coughing up froth streaked with blood. Whole neighbourhoods fled in panic, some were trampled, others convulsed and fell dead. People lost control of their bowels and bladders as they ran. Within hours thousands of dead bodies lay in the streets.

Farm Suicides In India

The image http://bundelkhand.in/portal/images/farmer_suicide_small.jpgPast two decades have seen an unprecedented rise in the number of farmer suicides in our country. Across the nation, lacks of farmers have taken their lives in these years. Though this process is on for almost 2 decades, but it is only now that the nation is getting to know the seriousness and the extent of it. We are going through the worst ever farm crisis in the history of our nation.

The booming economy and the India Shining Images have taken the headlines while the nations failed to take note of the pight of the farmers. Being an agrarian socisety where the lives of 800 million people is directly dependant on crops, it is high time that each Indian take note of the problem.

"Why the farmers of this country, who place the nation’s food on its table, are starving?"

Linguistic Division of States

India is a country with a diversity of languages. Out of more than one thousand mother tongues, only eighteen languages are included in the eighth schedule of the Indian Constitution. Development of a particular state or region, to a very great extent, depends on the development of its regional language. This was an important reason given at the time of the formation of linguistic states, though many criticized such a linguistic “division” or “re-organization”.

Space Feats of India

JPEG ImageIndia and space laws: A millennium perspective THE LAUNCH of Sputnik 1 by the former Soviet Union in 1957, followed by a similar feat by the U. S., within a few months, heralded the birth of the space age. The development and application of space technology has since made a tremendous global impact in diversified fields including social, economic, cultural and scientific.

Op White Floods and Dairy Reforms

The story before:JPEG ImageThe positive role that dairying could play in providing income and employment opportunity was clear to policy-makers long time back and a set of measures were put in place to develop and protect the dairy industry. Immediately after India gained independence, the Milk Control Board was set up which controlled the supply and distribution chains.

Lifestyle changes- Maruti, Mobiles and Malls

India, a nation that has undergone complete transformation after it got independence from the British Rule. But somehow the influence from the West never ceased to affect our culture and the growth of the Nation. The three major transforms taken from the entire lot is the way Mobiles, Cars and Malls have brought to the India nationality.

Integration of states

The early history of British expansion in India was characterised by the co-existence of two approaches towards the existing princely states. The first was a policy of annexation, where the British sought to forcibly absorb the Indian princely states into the provinces which constituted their Empire in India. The second was a policy of indirect rule, where the British assumed suzerainty and paramountcy over princely states, but conceded some degree of sovereignty to them. ..

Indo-Pakistan Conflicts/ Wars

The All India Muslim League (AIML) was formed in Dhaka in 1906 by Muslims who were suspicious of the Hindu-majority Indian National Congress. They complained that Muslim members did not have the same rights as Hindu members. A number of different scenarios were proposed at various times. Among the first to make the demand for a separate state was the writer/philosopher Allama Iqbal, who, in his presidential address to the 1930 convention of the Muslim League said that a separate nation for Muslims was essential in an otherwise Hindu-dominated subcontinent.

Non-Aligned Movement

Non Aligned MovementNonalignment had its origins in India's colonial experience and the nonviolent Indian independence struggle led by the Congress, which left India determined to be the master of its fate in an international system dominated politically by Cold War alliances and economically by Western capitalism and Soviet communism. The principles of nonalignment, as articulated by Nehru and his successors, were preservation of India's freedom of action internationally through refusal to align India with any bloc or alliance, particularly those led by the United States or the Soviet Union; nonviolence and international cooperation as a means of settling international disputes. Nonalignment was a consistent feature of Indian foreign policy by the late 1940s and enjoyed strong, almost unquestioning support among the Indian elite.

The Great Bombay Textile Strike

Mumbai was considered the economical capital of India because of the textile mills that laid the foundations of the city we know today. Mumbai's first textile mill, the Bombay Spinning Mill, was set up in 1856. During those days, Britain imported cotton from the United States. When the civil War broke out in America, the supplies stopped, which resulted in a boom for the Indian textile industry.

Sino-Indian War

The Sino-Indian War occurred in 1962. A disputed Himalayan border was the main pretext for war, but other issues played a role. There had been a series of violent border incidents after the 1959 Tibetan uprising, when we granted asylum to the Dalai Lama. Unable to reach political accommodation on disputed territory along the 3,225-kilometer-long Himalayan border, the Chinese launched simultaneous offensives in Ladakh and across the McMahon Line on 20 October 1962.

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